


One Problem at A Time Please

by chad



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Gay Rights, Gen, Light Angst, M/M, Nonbinary Summoner, had this as a wip for like a year so like i finished it just now, i read it over like 5 times to catch any mistakes but like im only human, romantic in a way despite not being a couple just ur typical alfonse antics, summoner is basically me so theres that too, there is hand holding, we're getting this man to a six flags one day, we're getting this man to new york city
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27122792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chad/pseuds/chad
Summary: The secret about Lif is out!Nobody knows what to really do yet. The Summoner and Alfonse find themselves talking about the uncertain future under the torch light of a very destroyed royal library. The big question is brought up: will the Summoner ever be able to go home?Takes place shortly after Book 3 Chapter 8: Part 5The Summoner is a self insert so there is a name given.
Relationships: Alfonse/Self Insert, Alfonse/Summoner | Eclat | Kiran, alfonse/oc
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	One Problem at A Time Please

I can be a dense person sometimes. Mostly because sometimes I don’t feel like thinking all the time. My job right now, as the legendary summoner of Askr, is to think and sometimes I need a break like any other person. So having Lif turn out to be an edgier Alfonse did catch me off guard. There was no time to play _Guess Who?_ when my good pal, Real Alfonse, was choking to death each and every day. So the revelation did catch me off guard to some extent. 

After the fight I found myself pacing around the library. Lif was Alfonse and Thrasir was Veronica. Hel sent them specifically to wreak havoc on an alternate dimension, our dimension. None of us know exactly why yet. Maybe it’s all a sick joke to Hel. There is a far bigger picture being painted in front of us right now. Yet we are unable to truly see the true message behind it. 

I pause to stop my pacing to look at the real mural in front of me. Withered and torn, you can still make it out as a portrait of the royal family. They were happy here once too.

Back to the issue at hand, Dead Alfonse wants to kill all of us for whatever reason. Most likely because Hel demanded he do so. Despite it all it appears that he still has some sense of feelings regarding Dead Sharena. So he’s not completely mindless as we’ve seen with Dead Gustav. 

Looking up at Gustav in the portrait I frown. The man couldn’t even bring himself to smile for a family portrait. The size of the painting is no laughing matter either. He really couldn’t bring himself to smile for the weeks of this portrait’s production. This man really paid another person to paint himself frowning during the medieval equivalent of family picture month. The frame appears to have been once covered in gold paint, now entirely flaking off. I pick at it. Not like it would really add to the damage this castle has already been succumbed to. 

The echo of metal boots clacking on stone has my head snapping towards the sound. Alfonse pauses at my sudden turn around, his eyes going wide. He opens his mouth to probably apologize for startling me before I raise my hand to stop him. Saying nothing, he makes his way over to where I’m standing in front of his not family’s portrait. The furrow of his brow would suggest that he feels concerned or emotionally constipated at the moment. It’s a common Alfonse expression next to exasperated or the classic Alfonse neutral. 

While I do enjoy making these jokes in my head the silence is deafening. There’s only the crackling of torch fire and a slight wind coming in from cracked window panes. The library itself is still rather dark. Not My Askr’s constant overcast refuses to shed any light through the clouds. Hel must have not been satisfied with killing an entire continent. Was she truly bothered enough to kill the sun too?

Out of the corner of my eye I notice Alfonse fidgeting with his hands. I do want to say something. He’s been through a lot with his shitty dad dying, almost dying himself, and learning that his alter ego wants him dead. The world has it out for him right now. It’s really sad to watch.

Alfonse was never good with his feelings though. I have tried therapy with my limited psychology education as my sword. I also tried using my position of best friend. Sometimes he’ll talk; mostly about his concerns for the kingdom. He does not enjoy any conversation being about his own feelings. Sharena vouched for me on that. 

He opens his mouth to exhale and I open up my ears as much as possible. I give him direct eye contact to assure him that I am very much here, and very much not dead. 

He finally makes his move, grasping my arm with a gloved hand so gently. His voice sounds confident, but his face still looks afraid. “Are you alright Castus? You’ve been walking around the castle unsupervised for a while now. I’ve been looking for you.” 

His gentle grip becomes a bit firmer with his last statement. I furrow my brow as I see him check me for any visible injuries. To suggest that I was unsupervised is a joke itself. Usually I have Niles or Tharja on lookout. They’re two of my best and most dangerous units. Also generally very sneaky and unafraid to get dirty. Alfonse simply believes they are not good or responsible company. I could start with that argument again to defend them, but for now I will bite my tongue and play along. 

It probably would’ve been better to train some of the Hoshido ninjas, but I never got around to doing that. Niles knows his way around the castle. Tharja is.... Tharja. It’s fine.

I smile at him and try to make my voice sound as casual as possible, “I’m doing alright. Everything has just been extremely eventful, and I needed some me time to start brainstorming for our next tactician meeting.” Okay here we go. “ How are you doing if you don’t mind me asking?” I bring my free hand to touch his own. To offer my friend comfort, but also to warn him that he started this and cannot run away now. 

He flusters at the contact, like always. Alfonse is quick to compose himself as he takes a deep breath. I can see him wracking up his brain to find the right words to say. I glance at the family portrait again. There was once a young Alfonse in this castle. His princely outfit is a dirty white from all the grime and dust that built up. His face was however scratched and torn out. It looks deliberate.

“It’s just... I understand that it must be a lot to take in. Our goal for peace with the Embla Empire. Fighting in wars that were not once ours. Now we fight a war with ourselves. In a world where the people I care about are gone.” I watch Alfonse freeze up, his mouth is a firm line. Tearing my gaze from the portrait I grip his hand tightly in mine. I refuse to let him run away from me that easily. 

“They are not us Alfonse. I want you to understand that he is not, and will never be, you. Just like how Fallen Tiki is not Summer Tiki. Or Spring Festival Alfonse is not you. Every hero is their own unique person.” I drag him toward me before pointing at the family portrait that looms over us. “That,” I point at Lif, “ is not you. He is never going to be you. You are never going to be him.” Alfonse tries to step away from me, but I only follow him. I will always follow him like he has for me. “Do you understand me Alfonse? Do you get what I’m saying?” 

He pauses his backpedal before tilting his head towards the ceiling and sighing. That action alone shocked me more than anything else that happened today. It felt too uncharacteristic for Alfonse. He sounds exhausted. Bringing his face back to eye level I find myself staring at stone. This was one of the few times I’ve seen Alfonse radiate pure anger. With eyebrows furrowed and fists clenched it felt like he was looking past and directly at me. 

“You died though. There is a you out there who died here in Askr, under my watch. Have you thought about that? I have.” His body continues to violently shake with rage. Alfonse manages to maintain eye contact with me. It’s almost suffocating. 

“Castus from an entirely different universe died. Someone who lived a different life. Hel attacked this Askr like ten years down the line from where we are now.” I release my grip on the prince, shaking my head, “There is nothing written in stone stating that’s going to happen to me.”

Alfonse looks as if he wants to strangle something. He starts to pace like how I was before he showed up, hands moving uncertain yet erratic. “You are all being too casual with this! Don’t you get it? You died! You probably died in many other universes as well! All Castus’s that made similar actions and decisions!” he swings around to face me again, “Are you not worried at all!?”

My mouth feels dry, so I lick my lips. I then crack the knuckles of my hands to add to the limited sounds in the room. Alfonse continues to stand there, the fire of the torches only reflect the anger in his eyes.

“Yeah I guess I’m concerned about something.”  
  
“What? What is it? I would love to feel like I’m not the only one not stressing out for silly reasons here!” Alfonse’s tone of voice changed. He sounds less angry, probably because he caught himself. He sounds tired.

“Hel started a war with this Askr years later down the line. Lif is possibly in his early thirties or so. Yeah?” 

Alfonse nods before sighing. “Yes and now she is attacking us earlier on. Where we’re far less prepared than our future counterparts.” 

I roll my eyes at the statement. “So Other Castus would also be in their early thirties. What I’m kind of concerned with is… Do you think I’ll ever be able to go home?” 

The room is silent again. Alfonse looks at me with pure shock and… fear? Which was not at all what I was expecting. Honestly, I did not know what to expect.

“Because you know. You’d think a decade from now you guys would have found a way back to my world. I’ve been thinking you know. Maybe Other Castus did not want to go back, or that you just never found a way back. Unless I ask Lif, which is kind of impossible, I don’t have an answer for that.” I shrug in a way that suggests, ‘it is what it is.’ Alfonse sputters at my nonchalance. Do I feel nonchalant? Not really. I just don’t feel like breaking down in tears or whatever he thinks is a respectable reaction. 

Alfonse brings a hand to cover his mouth before turning to look at a very interesting book. His brows are furrowed again. He’s definitely going to inherit his father’s wrinkles. Refusing to make eye contact with me he asks, “Do you want to leave?” Now? Me? Do I want to leave him?

I cross the space between us to jab his side with my elbow lightly. “Sometimes I miss the accessibility of my universe. Like the internet, fridges, and even the subway.” Other than the little ‘oof’ he gave from the unexpected jab he refuses to turn to face me. He looks scared, but for a different reason. “I kind of hope though. When you do find a way home for me, you can open the way back to Askr anytime. There’s a lot of stuff I want to show you back where I live. Like amusement parks! I bet Sharena would love Six Flags. You seem more like a Ferris Wheel kind of guy. Very boring and very much a hopeless romantic at heart”

Alfonse’s back straightens up and his face flushes in seconds. “You want me- us! To go with you?” He looks genuinely surprised. Which is stupid. God he is so stupid sometimes. I give him a side hug to emphasize my point. The man is as stiff as a board. He is slow to hug back. To my own surprise he made the side hug into a full hug, resting his chin on my shoulder. I squeeze and shake him a little for fun, but also to remind him that I am still alive.

“Yeah obviously! Don’t tell me you thought I was going to ditch you after all these years!” I hear him quietly mumble that it has only been about three years. I scoff. “Even so I already promised like half of the order all the cool stuff I was going to show them once you found a way to my Earth. Or at least some kind of Earth. I promised Jakob specifically that I would show him how a washing machine works. He sounded so excited.” Alfonse chuckles quietly, making me squeeze him a little bit tighter. If anything to remind myself that he is alive too.

Alfonse pulls back from the hug, but keeps me within arms reach. He still looks incredibly tired, but there is also a very obvious sign of relief written on his face. It gives me something to smile about. “I’ll feed you the best one dollar pizza New York has to offer! We’ll go see movies on the big screen instead of my tiny phone! We’ll even go to all the museums and you’ll have to suffer through my corny jokes as you try to actually learn something about another culture,” my smile only grows wider as the ideas come flooding. Alfonse would totally spend the entire day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art reading each and every plaque hanging on the wall. 

“Obviously, we have to defeat Hel first,” Alfonse is quick to open his mouth again before I raise my hand up to stop him, “Which is something important to worry about, I know. I only ask that you don’t give up just yet, despite the odds.” 

Yes he was the one saying that we all need to focus and come up with a plan. It just felt very doomsday, like he was not believing what he was asking of us. I take his hand into mine in a firm grip he easily reciprocates. “We are going to win this war, and then we’re going to Six Flags. Okay?”

Alfonse looks a little confused, but he has spirit now. “Yeah. We’re going to go to Six Flags one day. I’ll make sure of it.” 

I tsk at him, “We’ll make sure of it.”

It was only then did I realize that I didn't really explain what Six Flags is. Not that it matters because I already pulled Alfonse into another hug that he reciprocates faster this time. To solidify this promise. 

I swear to the goddesses of every universe here that I am getting this man on the El Toro ride. Even if I have to slaughter Hel with my own hands.

**Author's Note:**

> literally just played the new upd8 after writing this and honestly what the fuck


End file.
